The boat had a half-day fishing trip today. I was traveling north, so Capt. Craig Jiovani was running the boat for me. Capt. Craig was a long-time owner and operator on Charter Boat Row. He had the boat called The Ultra Grand Slam for many years. He recently sold the boat and “retired”. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Capt. Craig has been in high demand by other owners. Because of his experience and the respect he has from operating a quality charter business for so many years, he is the first choice among other owners to fill in for a day off.
As I mentioned, the boat only had a half day today. The wind was a bit stronger than predicted, but that is not unusual. Unfortunately, fishing was a little tougher than it’s been. We did catch one very nice sized Black Fin Tuna and jumped off a Sailfish. But those were the only two bites. Probably could have gotten some barracudas and maybe some Mackerel if we had spent some time on the reef, but the customers really wanted a Sailfish. Considering we had plenty for dinner with the Black Fin Tuna, we spent all our time offshore.
It almost worked. We got a sailfish bite. Unfortunately, it didn’t stay on the hook. It happens sometimes and it kind of sucks when it does, but that’s why catching a sailfish is so special. It ain’t easy.
We have the same people tomorrow and tomorrow is for a full day. Much more fishing time equals a much better chance of catching some good fish. On average, you get about 3 times the actual fishing times when you book a full day as opposed to a half-day. I make more money when I run 2 half days instead of a full day. Regardless, I would still rather run full-day trips. I like being out there and catching fish. The running in and out is pleasant, but the more time I have out there fishing, the better I like it.